JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Kibo Mining has welcomed the outcome of metallurgical testwork on the coal resource at its Mbeya coal-to-power project (MCPP), in Tanzania.
“[This] marks another major step forward in the development of the MCPP. Feasibility work done to date on the Mbeya coal resource independently concluded that the mining component of the MCPP is a very robust mining project with outstanding economic and technical fundamentals,” said Kibo Mining CEO Louis Coetzee.
Key results of the testwork included ash fusion temperature, in both oxidising and reducing environments, well above boiler operating temperature; an abrasive index of coal well within specifications for use with fluidised bed technology; and a sulphur content well within tolerance.
Lime injection technology would be able to comfortably keep sulphur dioxide emissions within required international emission standards.
“The metallurgical test results received have proven that the Mbeya coal not only meets, but exceeds, the standard technical requirements of the power plant. With these latest test results the Mbeya coal resource has now passed all the technical and economic requirements to qualify as a suitable long-term fuel source to the Mbeya power plant.
“We can now focus all our attention and resources on concluding the remaining mostly
administrative and commercial aspects of the MCPP definitive feasibility study,” said Coetzee.